Jhal NYC

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Instagram Post 4/19/2018

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Ask anyone from Bangladesh about #fushka (ফুসকা) and they will recount a personal story laden with affection and often a wistful touch of homesickness about this beloved street food. Fushka is Bangladesh’s take on Indian panipuri: It starts with puri, a deep-fried, puffed up, hollow shell of unleavened bread filled with a variety of components, often including potato, onion, cilantro, delicious aromatic spices, and thin sweet tamarind chutney. It’s that wonderfully drippy chutney that dictates that you pop the whole thing into your mouth all at once to get an eye-popping burst of those savory ingredients coming together in a symphony of flavor.

Convinced that you want to try this? Here’s your chance to savor one of the best I’ve ever tasted brought to you by the folks from Jhal NYC on Saturdays this summer at the Queens Night Market. Find their booth and you will not be disappointed!

And if you want to avoid the opening night crowds, remember to get your sneak preview tickets before they run out! They’re available for April 21st and 28th for only $5. Purchase yours at https://queensnightmarket.ticketleap.com/. It’s all happening at the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

www.queensnightmarket.com
 
 

I Eat Lao Food

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Instagram Post 4/17/2018

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Last night I had the opportunity to sample some delicious food from the incredibly talented and creative vendors that you’ll find on Saturdays this summer at the Queens Night Market. As promised, here’s a coming attraction:

One of the absolute standouts was served up by I Eat Lao Food who will be featuring their Laotian Larb and Coconut Fried Rice this season. Lao food has always been difficult to find in NYC, but if these folks are to be our standard bearers, we are in excellent hands. Find their booth and head for it straightaway – this dish is not to be missed.

And if you want to avoid the opening night crowds, remember to get your sneak preview tickets before they run out! They’re available for April 21st and 28th for only $5. Purchase yours at https://queensnightmarket.ticketleap.com/. It’s all happening at the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

www.queensnightmarket.com
 
 

Triple D’s

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Instagram Post 4/16/2018

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It might stand for delicious delightful and delectable. Or perhaps def dope and diesel. But certainly not dainty delicate or dull because the jerk chicken from Triple D’s Place, 771 Washington Ave on the border of Prospect Heights and Crown Heights, Brooklyn is da bomb!

Brooklyn is home to some of the best jerk chicken in New York City so rising to stellar level here is no mean feat, but Triple D’s does just that. Ever had jerk that’s just not flavorful enough? Not here. Dried out? Not here. Just BBQ chix with some jerk sauce poured over? Not here. They keep the chicken spicy and flavorful, they keep it tender and juicy, and they keep me coming back.

(Oh, and a bottle of Ting, please!)
 
 

BYGGYZ

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Instagram Post 4/13/2018

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If you’re gonna do only one thing, you’d better do it damn well. And oh, they do, they do!

BYGGYZ, the brainchild of Dewey Dufresne (yes, Wylie’s father) offers delicious, bespoke sandwiches crafted with impeccable attention to not only the quality of the ingredients, but the flavor compatibility of the component fixings. Here, for example, is not merely a roast beef sandwich; rather, it is a BYGGYBEEF – warm beef slow braised in pomegranate juice, with melted American cheese, hot pepper mix, BYGGYCHUP (the house ketchup) and BYGGYVEG, their mix of pickled fennel, carrots, red cabbage, currants and mixed herbs with Xxollent sauce on a seeded semolina hero. A Scrabble player’s nightmare, perhaps, but a gourmand’s rêve érotique.

Their bewitching sandwichy artistry even extends to dessert in the form of a DUSCREAM sandwich: a split Du’s vanilla cake doughnut filled with spiced apple ice cream and rimmed with cinnamon-oatmeal crumble.

IMHO, BYGGYZ comes by their all-caps name honestly; head to 37-39 Clinton St, Manhattan and taste what all the shouting is about.
 
 

BonBon

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Instagram Post 4/11/2018

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Imagine if the Beatles’ “Savoy Truffle” had been a Swedish song: as opposed to names of candies like Creme Tangerine, Montelimar, and Ginger Sling, they would have sung about Gott Och Blandat, Chokladhjärta, and Häxvrål. Those are just some of what you’ll find at BonBon, 130 Allen Street in Manhattan. Fortunately, it wasn’t a northern song and there are English signs here, there, and everywhere to hold your hand if you’ve got a feeling that it’s all too much, because there are over 150 kinds of Swedish candy on display. But I did see Finnish Sweet Licorice Pieces and I wonder if something Norwegian would help! 😜
🐷 🐷 🐷
But seriously, BonBon is a Swedish 🇸🇪 candy company that’s a newcomer to the Lower East Side. In addition to sweet treats in a rainbow array of colors, flavors, and textures, they sell world famous Swedish salty licorice as well as the sweetish kind. Curiously, the unique taste comes not from sodium chloride (NaCl, table salt) but rather from ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) so it’s really more astringent than salty. I recommend Tyrkisk Peber (Turkish pepper) – that’s the hard stuff, literally – although they do have a number of gateway salty licorices to choose from like chewy filled Sweet & Salty Licorice Logs, Licorice Chalks in a variety of flavors, Licorice Screws and Licorice Carpets. Other favorites included Tivoli Mix, Lemon Rhubarb Logs, and ridged, red and white, flowery-edged Vanilla Marshmallow candies. For traditionalists, they also offer delicious Swedish chocolates including Daim, the milk chocolate covered crunchy almond caramel candy bar that makes everybody glad all over. Try it; you’ll definitely dig it.

All together now: The End!

#thereAre15 #didYouFindThemAll
 
 

Sweets Bakery

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Instagram Post 4/9/2018

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It Came From Chinatown!

No, that’s not the title of some 1950s monster chiller horror B-movie. Given its provenance and appearance one might assume that this is a Chinese egg custard tart. Appearances notwithstanding, this Dan Tat doppelganger is actually a Cheese Tart, designated as such by Sweets Bakery at 125 Walker St, Manhattan. Denser and a bit grainier than custard and not tasting particularly cheesy, it was nonetheless a satisfying sweet snack, conquered on the run by (photo 2) the Attack of a Colossal Chomp!

#iSaidChompNotChump
 
 

Mama Fina’s House of Filipino Sisig

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Instagram Post 4/5/2018

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To paraphrase Clara Peller, “Where’s the squid?” I mean, I liked the dish – after all, anything that’s that crispy and crunchy gets extra stars in my book – but it was difficult to tease out much squiddy flavor lurking within. We considered sending our Pusit Sisig back for one of the five other varieties they offer, sort of a squid pro quo if you will, but we were assured that our order was right and that’s how they did it there. My theory is that they use deep fried squid tentacles (yum) and chop them so fine as to be beyond recognition. So it was tasty, just not what we were anticipating. A side of garlic rice could have used more garlic, but that’s true of almost anything. We also got an order of Laing, taro leaves cooked in coconut milk with shrimp, which I liked but my dining buddy thought was too sweet.

So went our brief adventure at Mama Fina’s House of Filipino Sisig, 167 Avenue A, Manhattan. Being a major booster and fan of 🇵🇭 Filipino food, I wanted to love it; perhaps I was misled by my expectations, perhaps it’s a slightly different style of Filipino cooking than I’m accustomed to. And if I were walking past, yes, I’d give it another chance.

#clarapeller #goAheadLookHerUp #iCanWait #iKnowImDatingMyself
 
 

Rosario’s Pizza

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Instagram Post 4/4/2018

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Some years ago, in an animated conversation with Arthur Schwartz, illustrious author of “New York City Food” and former WOR radio talk show host, I asked whose pizza he liked best in Manhattan. I fully expected him to name any one of a number of highly hyped pizzerias with which I was already overly familiar. Without missing a beat, he replied, “Rosario’s on the Lower East Side.” I fell silent. I had never heard of it. The next day, I hightailed it to 173 Orchard St to taste for myself. The pizza (a slice of sausage and a slice of white, please) was a standout and absolutely delicious. It was no-gimmick Ur-pizza at its finest, a little like the pizza I grew up with: not puffy Neapolitan, not Chicago deep dish or Detroit style or St. Louis style, just the embodiment of archetypal, old school New York Style Pizza – and the real deal as far as I’m concerned. Maybe it’s just me, but is this New York City’s best kept secret, arguably the best pizza in Manhattan? See for yourself – and for best results, make sure your 🍕 is 🔥.
 
 

Alley 41

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My Instagram posts are usually brief takes on restaurants accompanied by a photo or two. (You can see my feed, updated almost daily, here in the “Instagram” category – no signup required.) But folks sometimes ask for fuller reviews and more photos, so in response, here’s a more comprehensive report on one of my favorites.

It is my distinct pleasure to turn you on to Alley 41 in Flushing, one of the new breed of contemporary Sichuan restaurants, and not to be missed. Alley 41 describes itself as “authentic Szechuan cuisine with a touch of creativity”. I describe it as amazing, awesome, and astounding. And that’s just the As. Award-winning Master Chef Jiang has composed a menu of dishes that could make even the most stoic diner gush with delight; everything we ordered had a unique, personal spin and was wonderful. There are only so many synonyms for delicious, and toothsome fell out of favor half a century ago, so I’ll abandon verbal descriptions and let you ogle the photos. With a seemingly infinite menu, this is one restaurant I’ll never tire of.

Here are a few of the extraordinary dishes we tried. (Click any photo to view in glorious high resolution.)


Our first visit to Alley 41 occurred when Chinese Lunar New Year was just around the corner, and I recalled that enjoying long noodles portends a long life. These Sweet and Spicy Noodles are the longest and thickest I’ve ever encountered, so I gather I’m headed for a long (and chubby) lifetime! If memory serves, each was about a yard long (no hyperbole in this hyperbowl) with an awesome chew, napped with a sauce made of sheer happiness. I say that because their name, tiánshui miàn (甜水麵) taken literally character by character, means sweet water noodle, but the first two characters together can mean “happiness” and I’m sticking with that translation. It’s a Sichuan restaurant, but I’m told that these noodles hail from Dongbei.


Three of the appetizer/snack items we tried: Chinese Beef Burritos, Thousand Layer Pancake, and Chinese Leek Turnovers.

Seafood and Pumpkin Congee. Deceptively light, the unique blend of ingredients – savory seafood, crispy youtiao (Chinese cruller) for texture, scallion for a little punch, and that surprising pumpkin jook made for a delightful combination.

Pork Belly in Garlic Sauce was beautifully presented. Rolled up with cucumber, scallion and cold noodles, not to mention the perfect accompanying sauce, they were irresistible.

They may look simple, but the Smoky Wok Tossed Spicy Asian Green Chilies brought a touch of heat and a ton of flavor to what only seemed like a modest dish.

Spare Ribs with Salted Duck Egg. (Along with a few others, this one doesn’t appear on the current menu. If you’ve got some kind of portable internet access device and you’re eager to try these dishes, bring it along and pull up my photos; a picture is worth a thousand words!)

Sautéed Cauliflower with Soy Sauce. With this cauldron of cauliflower, folks at the table who cry “more veggies” were more than satisfied. The structure of Chinese cauliflower is less compact than the dense Northern European version you might be accustomed to and that makes for a more tender texture after cooking and allows it to soak up more sauce.

Lamb with Hot Pepper Sauce. Delicious and delicate, I wouldn’t have minded a little more heat, but I’m not complaining.

Sautéed Diced Chicken with Basil and Yib Veggie Buns (or so the menu read). I believe the name refers to Yibin, the city in Sichuan province. To me, the little buns looked like mini wotou, hollow, conical, steamed cornbread (and yes, you can buy those in food courts in Flushing if you know where to look).

Braised Tender Beef with Veggies. You’ll want some rice with this one to counterbalance the savory sauce. Good eats!

Frog with Dry Pepper. Green pepper, lotus root, leeks, bean curd skin and more combine with bits of frog in this tasty stir fry.

I admit it; I’m a sucker for dishes like this one. Steamed Fatty Meat (pork belly) with Sticky Rice – to me it tastes like the most unimaginably rich comfort food!

Flounder in Garlic Sauce. Crispy and light with just enough spice to complement but not overpower the delicately fried fish.

Stir-Fried Smoky Pork with Green Leek. With the one-two punch of smoky pork belly and zesty leeks, this dish makes its presence felt in no uncertain terms.

Spicy Lamb with Cumin Flavor. Sizzling, spicy, succulent, scrumptious! Seems to be a universal favorite.

Braised Pork with Chinese Chestnuts. Pork belly and chestnuts in a savory sauce turned out to be a wonderful combination.

Sautéed Prawns with Spicy Chili Minced Pork. Delicious head-on (is there any other way?) prawns with bits of pork in a gently spicy sauce with scallions and red pepper. Straightforward and elegant at the same time.

Sizzling Minced Beef with Black Pepper. Got this one because I wanted to see what the geniuses at Alley 41 would do with black pepper – not that I’m tired of red chilies or Sichuan peppercorns or any other form of kicked up goodness, of course – and I wasn’t disappointed. The flavor was surprisingly complex, not at all one-note which can happen with black pepper, the beef perfectly tender, and the onions were just the right accompaniment. The dish came to our table steaming and sizzling with bonito flakes dancing atop as if in celebration of our get-together. Naturally, the platter was extremely hot – not a bull you’d want to grab by the horns!

My highest praise for Alley 41, 136-45 41st Ave, Flushing. I guess I’m not going to be satisfied until I’ve tried everything on their 46 page menu. If you haven’t been there yet, I strongly recommend it. And if you have, isn’t it time to go back? 😉

 

Sevan

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Instagram Post 3/26/2018

Love is where you find it, or so goes the song, but we never thought to look in Oakland Gardens, Queens! An authentic Armenian 🇦🇲 lunch organized by @restaurantfairy at Sevan Restaurant and Catering, 216-09 Horace Harding Expressway, held us in its thrall for course after surprising course. Some photos from our banquet: (Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Every nation that honors sujuk and basturma has its own spin on the recipes (and its own spellings I might add). Sujuk is a beef sausage seasoned with a bespoke blend of spices that usually includes cumin; basturma (you probably recognize the word pastrami lurking in there) is pressed, dried, cured beef; and I found Sevan’s offerings so tender and tasty that after lunch I wasted no time in visiting their market next door to see if they were available there. They were, and I happily brought some home to savor in the afterglow. The cheese pies were moist and buttery tasting and the yalanchi, hand rolled grape leaves stuffed with rice, onions, herbs and spices (not pictured here), were flavorful as well.

Perfectly seasoned chicken and deeply marinated steak kebabs with an unexpected side of grilled potatoes arrived next along with lule kebabs, ground beef infused with a truly delicious spice blend. No need to ask if we polished off the bread beneath that had been quietly collecting all those savory meat juices! Dessert was baklava that – another surprise – wasn’t overly sweet. But first….

Just when we thought the enchantment couldn’t get any more intense, strains of Armenian music pealed from the back of the room to catch our attention. Our waiter sailed in bearing a flaming tower of lamb chops that elicited enraptured moans from the group and, needless to say, set off a flurry of photos and videos!